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Idaho Statutes
Idaho Statutes are updated to the website July 1 following the legislative session.
STATE PRISON AND COUNTY JAILS
CHAPTER 5
JUVENILE CORRECTIONS ACT
20-514. representation at all stages of proceedings — Appointment of counsel — waiver — Payment of cost of legal services. (1) A juvenile who is being detained by a law enforcement officer or who is under formal charge of having committed, or who has been adjudicated for commission of, an act, omission or status that brings him under the purview of this act, is entitled:
(a) To be represented by an attorney to the same extent as an adult having his own counsel is so entitled pursuant to section 19-6009, Idaho Code; and
(b) To be provided with the necessary services and facilities of representation, including investigation and other preparation.
(2) A juvenile who is entitled to be represented by an attorney under subsection (1) of this section is entitled:
(a) To be counseled and defended at all stages of the matter beginning with the earliest time and including revocation of probation or recommitment;
(b) To be represented in any appeal; and
(c) To be represented in any other post-adjudication or review proceeding that the attorney or the juvenile considers appropriate, unless the court in which the proceeding is brought determines that it is not a proceeding that a reasonable person with adequate means would be willing to bring at his own expense and is therefore a frivolous proceeding.
(3) A juvenile’s right to a benefit under subsection (1) or (2) of this section is unaffected by his having provided a similar benefit at his own expense, or by his having waived it, at an earlier stage.
(4) As early as possible in the proceedings, and in any event before the hearing of the petition on the merits, the juvenile and his parents, or guardian, shall be notified of their right to have counsel represent them. When it appears to the court that the juvenile or his parents or guardian desire counsel but are financially unable to pay for such legal services, the court shall appoint counsel to represent the juvenile and his parents or guardian; provided that in the event the court shall find that there is a conflict of interest between the interests of the juvenile and his parents or guardian, then the court shall appoint separate counsel for the juvenile, whether or not he or his parents or guardian are able to afford counsel, unless there is an intelligent waiver of the right of counsel by the juvenile, except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, and the court further determines that the best interest of the juvenile does not require the appointment of counsel. Counsel appointed under this section shall initially receive reasonable compensation from the county and the county shall have the right to be reimbursed for the cost thereof by the parents or guardian as hereafter provided in this section.
(5) Any waiver of the right to counsel by a juvenile under this act shall be made in writing, on the record and upon a finding by the court that:
(a) The juvenile has been informed of the right to counsel and the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation; and
(b) The waiver is intelligently made after consideration of the totality of the circumstances including, but not limited to:
(i) The age, maturity, intelligence, education, competency and comprehension of the juvenile;
(ii) The presence of the juvenile’s parents or guardian;
(iii) The seriousness of the offense;
(iv) The collateral consequences of adjudication of the offense; and
(v) Whether the interests of the juvenile and his parents or guardian conflict.
(6) A juvenile shall not be permitted to waive the assistance to counsel in any of the following circumstances:
(a) If the juvenile is under the age of fourteen (14) years;
(b) In sentencing proceedings in which it has been recommended that the juvenile be committed to the legal custody of the department of juvenile corrections;
(c) In proceedings in which the juvenile is being adjudicated for commission of a crime of a sexual nature;
(d) In proceedings in which the juvenile is being adjudicated for commission of a felony;
(e) In hearings upon a motion to waive jurisdiction under the juvenile corrections act pursuant to section 20-508, Idaho Code;
(f) In hearings upon a motion to examine the juvenile to determine if he is competent to proceed pursuant to section 20-519A, Idaho Code; or
(g) In recommitment proceedings.
(7) Upon the entry of an order finding the juvenile is within the purview of this act, the parents, spouse or other person liable for the support of the juvenile, or the estates of such persons, and the estate of such juvenile, may be required by the court to reimburse the county for all or a portion of the cost of those legal services rendered to the juvenile by counsel appointed pursuant to this section that are related to the finding that the juvenile is within the purview of this act, unless the court finds such persons or estate to be indigent as described in section 19-6011, Idaho Code, and the requirement would impose a manifest hardship on those persons responsible for the juvenile or the estates. The current inability of those persons or entities to pay the reimbursement shall not, in and of itself, restrict the court from ordering reimbursement.
(8) The prosecuting attorney of each county may, on behalf of the county, recover payment or reimbursement, as the case may be, from each person or estate who is liable for the payment or reimbursement of the cost of court appointed counsel for the juvenile, as provided in subsection (7) of this section. In the event such payment or reimbursement is not made upon demand by the prosecuting attorney, suit may be brought against such persons by the prosecuting attorney within five (5) years after the date on which such counsel was appointed by the court.
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